Experts fret over Nigeria’s huge aviation facility deficit

●IATA forecasts 8.2bn global traffic by 2037

●Nigeria projected to hit 31m by 2030

Following the International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast that present trends in air transport suggest passenger numbers could double to 8.2 billion by 2037, aviation experts said there is need to urgently address the country’s aviation infrastructure challenges.

President, Aviation Round Table (ART), Mr. Gbenga Olowo, disclosed this in a chat in Lagos.

Specifically, he said that in Nigeria, it is also projected that passenger traffic will more than double to about 35 million per annum by the same period.

He stated that obviously it has become inevitable that airport facilities must be expanded and modernised to take in the passenger growth.

However, the clearing house (IATA) recently decried the appalling state of facilities at the nation’s aerodromes, noting that Nigeria would need over $30 billion to tackle the malaise.

 Olowo agreed that government had shown commitment to airport development, but it is yet to meet the needs of airport infrastructure and called for greater commitment of funds to modernise airport facilities.

Observing that government may not be able to provide the needed funds, they said that government must initiate policies that would encourage the private sector to invest in airports.

He also called for a review of existing regulations to remove hindrances to private sector participation in the development of airport infrastructure.

Besides, he stated that the commitment of government saw to the commissioning of one of the six international airport terminal with the opening of the ultra-modern airport in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, by President Muhammadu Buhari, last Thursday.

The ART chief further stated that infrastructure development is critical to achieving human capital development in any society.

To him, the economic impact that infrastructure improvement has on nation building cannot be over-emphasised.

He added that the growth of any country’s economy hugely depends on the status of its infrastructure, adding that the dearth of needed infrastructure in a given society places serious limitation on human capital development.

His words: “According to the World Bank, every one per cent of government funds spent on infrastructure leads to an equivalent one per cent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which invariably means that there is a correlation between any meaningful input in infrastructure development, which reflects on economic growth indices, hence the value of infrastructure cannot be underplayed.”

In a struggling economy like Nigeria’s, he noted that economic development can be further facilitated and hastened by the availability of needed infrastructure.

“If these facilities and services are not in place, development will be slow and full of obstacles. Sadly, this is the stage that we are in Nigeria. It is, therefore, not surprising that the rate of economic growth and development in our country is not appreciable,” he added.

President Muhammadu Buhari also added his voice to the growing concern of aviation facility deficit, stating that after opening the major airport terminals in the country in the late 70s and early 80s, not much was added to increase the passenger handling capacity of the facilities by successive administrations.

He said following the large increase in national population with consequent surge in air passenger traffic, the capacity of the airport terminals became woefully inadequate to cater for the increase in passenger traffic.

He said: “As part of the infrastructure renewal program, the construction of four new international terminals at Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano airports was embarked upon by the Federal Government with a view to modernising the aging airport infrastructure to meet global aviation standards and improved service delivery in tandem with best international practices.

“Nigeria having an advantageous central location within the sub-region and our desire to develop into a regional air transportation hub, must upgrade its facilities to take advantage of its assets. The recent decision by the Federal Government to remove Value Added Tax from domestic air transportation is in line with global best practices.